We'll always remember Pooky the Parrot. She lived upstairs from where we were staying in a cage on the porch. Since the owners of the home were not home most of the time during our stay, we didn't feel strange about letting the kids go up to visit Pooky, many times on their own.
We couldn't decide whether Pooky felt priviledged or annoyed by the kid's daily visits. He would squawk loudly when they sang to him and hop around a lot when they would dance for him. We spent a great deal of time in the beginning showing the kids how to keep their fingers out of the cage, and about how Pooky would probably try to bite their fingers if they left them inside the cage too long. We became quite relaxed when they seemed to be taking our advice.
But, wouldn't you know it, Jared did get the tip of his finger bitten before our vacation was over. They had been putting bits of sugar cane into the cage so Pooky would have a little treat, and I think Pooky mistook Jared's finger for the cane. It wasn't a bad bite at all, still it bled which made it seem worse to Jared.
I think it was a really good lesson about how when mom and dad issue warnings, they probably should be taken more seriously. Also, so many parents wouldn't have allowed their kids to play so close to the cage unless they were standing right next to the child the whole time. As long as kids don't have lasting permanent damage, I think a certain amount of physical accidents are good for kids to experience. Those experiences are much better teachers than mom or dad.
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